Nokia E7: biggest seller of 2011

Nokia has started shipping its E7 handset, finally (although there's still no official word exactly when the QWERTY-packing N8 cousin will hit the UK) and, if a Nokia senior official is right - it will be the Finnish phone company's biggest seller of 2011.

"The E7 is by far the most important model for us this year when looking at sales expectations," said Ukko Lappalainen, VP of Nokia N series phones, according to Reuters.

Or, Nokia, what about something, anything, more exciting than the Nokia E7 - which is basically the same phone as the N8 (albeit with a slightly larger screen and a lower-spec camera) that didn't exactly set the world alight last year?

It's only one Nokia official we know, and one quote, but we're still hoping that the former king of the smartphone can get back on track with some big releases in 2011 and not just rely on the same old model (almost literally) - one that hasn't reaped many rewards in the recent past.

Quotes like Lappalainen's don't exactly raise our hopes though.

Can Nokia recover its former glory days, or have the likes of Apple, HTC, Samsung and LG left the Finnish company too far behind already? Let us know what you think using the comments below.